Many of the PS4’s launch titles have a very bright, and colorful look to them. Battlefield 4 and Killzone: Shadow Fall are both surprisingly vibrant when looked upon next to other titles of their genre, and Need for Speed: Rivals is similarly radiant. So it would seem that it’s up to Contrast to deliver a darker experience; both visually, and tonally. It definitely delivers the former, but falls short in the latter spectrum. Continue Reading

Rockstar games and unbridled ambition have always sat in synonymic harmony. But as of late, the company’s successes have been thanks to something much deeper than gargantuan cityscapes and the lively streets that accompany them. The tale of a tragic hero – or anti-hero in the case of Grand Theft Auto – with Niko Bellic and John Marston being Macbeths of their respective times. Though over the years it’s become a tired formula. A “hero”, a problem, and an end, though a minimalist descriptor for two of the most highly-acclaimed story-centric games of late, it’s a fair one. So having a Rockstar narrative – recurrently focused on the thorough development of a single character with others acting primarily as supplement – include three protagonists, is as flashy a proposal as it is a daunting one. Many of the developer’s devout refused to think twice about the challenges related to the additional player-characters, fully trusting in Rockstar’s moxie to pull-off the feat. While they don’t do so with perfection, they don’t stray far from it. Continue Reading

About ten years ago when I was first introduced to him, I never imagined Rayman would star in one of my all-time favorite platformers. Sure, Rayman 1, 2 and 3 were good fun. But I felt they lacked the precision, and challenge that can be found in other games of its time, and catagory. A few years later, Rayman dropped the genre almost entirely, in favor of becoming the minigame-centric “Rabbids” series’s mascot. It was a financially successful change, but one that I was never a fan of. Then about three years ago, my outlook on the franchise changed dramatically. While watching E3, there was talk of bringing the Rayman series back to its Origins. And the game they announced did that, and a whole lot more. It breathed new life into the platforming genre with its hectic nature, and gorgeous art-direction. It became one of my favorite platformers of all time… and Legends tops it without breaking a sweat. Continue Reading

What started off as a small Kickstarter-funded project has morphed into a full-on downloadable title being published by none other than Ubisoft. The game was toted as being “the hardest platformer ever”, and for having an infinite number of levels. But does Cloudberry Kingdom‘s gameplay match its ambitious promises? The answer is: sort of. Continue Reading

After the series’ unfortunate outing in modern-day Mexico in 2011’s “The Cartel”, it’s no wonder people were less-than optimistic about the announcement that Call of Juarez would be going back to its old-west roots. With the oldest two games having not aged particularly well, and The Cartel having been such a disaster, there wasn’t much hope that Gunslinger would become anything more than a poor cash-in on the franchise’s name. Luckily, it turned out to be quite a bit more than that. Continue Reading

WARNING: While this review contains no actual plot spoilers, it does discuss one particular scene that takes place early-on in the game. Again, it doesn’t spoil anything about the story, but if you want to play the game entirely blind then read at your own risk.

The underground tunnels that were once synonymous with cheap, reliable transport have become the Russian peoples’ only source of refuge from the radiation that pollutes the surface. Children don’t know what birds or dogs look like, or that they were friendly creatures, they only know of the mutated creatures of the surface that are often referred to as “demons” because of their frightening appearance and unmitigated hostility. This dark and seemingly hopeless world is the one Metro: Last Light creates — that it invites players to take part in. Continue Reading

To many Xbox 360 owners, FEZ is more or less old news. Over a year ago the indie sensation hit the Xbox marketplace and wowed its players. Bringing the ever so gratifying nostalgia that playing a retro-style game delivers, while at the same time putting forth an incredible amount of originality. A PC port for the previously Xbox-exclusive indie mega-hit has recently been released, and I figured all of the buzz around the Xbox release meant this game was worth playing. Continue Reading